Jeopardy contestant breaks record for lowest score ever as LeVar Burton makes his hosting debut

Well, LeVar Burton's Jeopardy debut was definitely memorable.

While Monday's episode of the popular trivia game show was a highly anticipated and long-coming moment for the Reading Rainbow and Star Trek star, the installment also saw one contestant break a new record... for the lowest score in Jeopardy history.

Patrick Pearce, a product specialist from Fountain Valley, Calif., ended the night with -$7,400, which breaks the previous record of -$6,800 held by contestant Stephanie Hull since her March 2015 appearance.

Pearce ended the Jeopardy round with $200, but Double Jeopardy dug him deeper into the money hole. Because he ended the show on a negative number, he was not eligible to participate in Final Jeopardy. Kathleen McHugh of Detroit and Matt Amodio of New Haven, Conn. were Final Jeopardy's only two competitors. Amodio emerged the victor to bring his four-day winning streak to $122,400.

Jeopardy Productions LeVar Burton and Patrick Pearce on 'Jeopardy'

Though Burton felt much love for his guest hosting debut, many fans were distracted by this moment. On a brighter note, Pearce competed on Jeopardy, which isn't something most people can say they did.

We also get four more episodes with Burton as guest host. The man has been campaigning for this job since first tweeting about it in 2013, and his fans have since taken up the cause. Burton now has his sights set on hosting the show permanently after the death of Alex Trebek in 2020.

"More than anything, I am eager to put my skills up against those of anyone else in contention and then let the chips fall where they may," he said on The View ahead of Monday's episode. "The important thing for me is I have an opportunity to compete for the job, and that's all I ever really wanted."

Related content: